Senior Director, Acquisitions

ERM is seeking a motivated and dynamic Senior Director, Acquisitions to lead ERM’s acquisition activities in EMEA / APAC but with a global remit. The Global Acquisitions team is a high-impact group that is responsible for the origination, evaluation, negotiation, and execution of acquisitions that align with ERM’s growth priorities. ERM is recognized leader in the environmental and sustainability marketplace that is highly acquisitive as M&A has historically been and remains a key strategic and growth lever for the firm having completed 25 acquisitions in last 5 years around the globe.

The Global Acquisitions team is extremely visible across the organization and works closely with ERM’s executives, regional leadership, and investors. In October 2021, KKR acquired a majority interest in ERM to support its next phase of growth, which will include an increase in both the scale and pace of Digital M&A activity. KKR is the second largest private equity firm in the world with ~$160 billion of AUM and has invested in ERM through its Core Investment strategy, which is designed for strategic partnerships with a long-term hold period.

The role will report to the Global Head of Acquisitions in London and work collaboratively with the entire Acquisitions team.

Responsibilities

• Working with Senior Management, Regional leadership, Global Services and Sector teams to identify key growth areas and acquisition targets.

• Help refine and evolve ERM’s M&A strategy and criteria based on ERM’s strategic priorities and the market landscape - collaborating with ERM Leaders to translate overall growth plans and strategic priorities to adapt and prioritize our M&A approach

• Manage, develop and expand the short and longer term M&A pipeline.

• Build and maintain relationships with targets’ shareholders, management teams and the broader advisory community

  • Lead or facilitate the outreach to Targets to explore the strategic and cultural fit of the organization, as well as assess the appetite for a potential combination with ERM 

• Take the lead in acquisition processes (origination, negotiation, due diligence, transaction documentation, structuring and integration planning) delivering optimum outcomes

• Develop and present business case to Senior Management, Board, Investment Committee and Investors

• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives to enhance existing processes and approaches

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Significant experience managing the day to day execution of M&A transactions, ideally including some gained within a corporate setting

• Experience of the relevant sector is an advantage

• 8-12 years of relevant experience, ideally including some gained within a corporate setting

• Previous experience in one or more of Corporate Development / Acquisitions, Investment Banking or, alternatively, a qualified accountant, if supplemented by other M&A experience

• Demonstrable experience of negotiating transactions terms, structures, documentation and mechanics

• Ability to build and articulate strategy within or for a complex global organisation

• Good presentation skills; able to present with credibility to many levels – Board, Executive, management, engineering

• Strong valuation, quantitative and financial analysis skills including interpretation of financial statements and translation into meaningful trends and assessments

• Demonstrated ability to probe for and drive the construction of key business case assumptions and translate those assumptions into credible financial scenarios with internal stakeholders

• Strong written and oral communication skills

• Ability to engage with a variety of stakeholders in a credible fashion with evidence of ability to build networks in global organisation

• Able to work effectively in environment with high degree of ambiguity, capable of exploring new markets quickly with little oversight

Personal Skills:

• Dynamic, self-starter – able to operate with minimal oversight

• Highly motivated, reliable, willing to do what it takes to deliver excellent results

• Hands-on, gets stuck in – not looking for delegators

• Strategic thinker

• Good communicator and network builder, personable

• Capable of working as a team player or independently

• Excellent attention to detail

• Able to work and communicate at a detailed or high level

• Willingness to travel